From the small screen to breast cancer screening: examining the effects of a television storyline on awareness of genetic risk factors.

Background: The topic of breast cancer genetics entered the public discourse following Angelina Jolie's 2013 announcement that she carries the BRCA1 mutation and underwent a prophylactic double mastectomy to reduce her breast cancer risk. A year prior to Jolie's announcement, the teen drama ran an eight-episode story arc on the BRCA gene mutations. This study focuses on an evaluation of the impact of this particular media text within the broader context of research on the persuasive effects of entertainment narratives (i.

CDC MessageWorks: Designing and Validating a Social Marketing Tool to Craft and Defend Effective Messages.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, in partnership with Oak Ridge Associated Universities, designed an online social marketing strategy tool, MessageWorks, to help health communicators effectively formulate messages aimed at changing health behaviors and evaluate message tactics and audience characteristics. MessageWorks is based on the advisor for risk communication model that identifies 10 variables that can be used to predict target audience intentions to comply with health recommendations. This article discusses the value of the MessageWorks tool to health communicators and to the field of social marketing by (1) describing the scientific evidence supporting use of MessageWorks to improve health communication practice and (2) summarizing how to use MessageWorks and interpret the results it produces.

Partnering against cancer today: a blueprint for coordinating efforts through communication science.

One of the hallmarks of the communication revolution over the past decade has been its support for participation, whether that be in the active engagement of patients searching the Web for answers to vital health questions, or in the collective energies of self-organizing communities through social media. At the same time, some of the major obstacles to achieving a full and equitable reach of evidence-based cancer control knowledge have been traced back to discontinuities in communication either within clinical care or the broader public awareness system. Communication scientists from the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Cancer Society joined forces in 2010 to investigate ways in which communication science can be used to improve coordination and enhance participation in cancer control for the nation.

Discussing uncertainty and risk in primary care: recommendations of a multi-disciplinary panel regarding communication around prostate cancer screening.

Background: Shared decision making improves value-concordant decision-making around prostate cancer screening (PrCS). Yet, PrCS discussions remain complex, challenging and often emotional for physicians and average-risk men.

Objective: In July 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention convened a multidisciplinary expert panel to identify priorities for funding agencies and development groups to promote evidence-based, value-concordant decisions between men at average risk for prostate cancer and their physicians.

Guidance for evaluating mass communication health initiatives: summary of an expert panel discussion sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In May 2004, 12 experts in evaluating large-scale health communication programs came to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to participate in an electronic focus group discussion. They offered advice on topics ranging from the role of logic models to the best strategies for controlling for self-selection bias in surveys regarding outcomes of exposure to mass media health messages. The experts also highlighted health communication evaluation topics that have received too little scientific attention.